James Byrd, Jr. was an African-American murdered, in a 1998 hate crime, by Shawn Allen Berry, Lawrence Russel Brewer, and John William King. Byrd was tied to a truck, with a chain, and dragged 5km. An autopsy indicated that Byrd was alive for much of the dragging; dying after his right arm and head were severed as his body impacted with a culvert.